Bellevue University Awarded CUBIC Award

<p><strong>Bellevue, Neb. &mdash; Jan. 8</strong><br />Bellevue University, the first and only accredited university to receive a Corporate University Best in Class (CUBIC) award in 2005, was once again presented with the honor during the Annual Corporate University Week 2007 national convention in Florida.<br /><br />The CUBIC Awards, presented by the International Quality and Productivity Center, were established to honor, recognize and promote internal training organizations and corporate universities that set the standards for excellence. Past award winners include Fortune 500 companies, global organizations, nonprofits and governmental training groups. Bellevue University was honored in the &ldquo;Most Innovative Industry Resource&rdquo; category.<br /><br />&ldquo;Everyone at Bellevue University is truly honored to receive this important recognition, from experts in the field of corporate education and training,&rdquo; said Bellevue University President Dr. John Muller.<br /><br />&ldquo;The CUBIC Awards recognize the nation&rsquo;s leading corporate universities and best practices,&rdquo; Muller said. &ldquo;Bellevue University was named the &#39;Most Innovative Industry Resource&#39; because of our successful corporate partnerships and skill at providing programs ranging from full, customized degree programs to individual courses that are aligned with corporate goals and strategies.&rdquo;<br /><br />Michael Echols, Ph.D., vice president, Bellevue University&rsquo;s strategic initiatives, added: &ldquo;In everything we do, we focus on making education relevant to the needs of the organization.&rdquo; Echols, who was recently recognized by Training Industry Inc. as one of the nation&rsquo;s Top 20 &ldquo;Training Industry Influencers,&rdquo; added that Bellevue University works with companies around the world to define and develop learning programs that will give an organization&rsquo;s workforce the knowledge, skills and experience it needs to strategically move the companies forward.<br /><br />&ldquo;Bellevue University has shifted the nation&rsquo;s corporate learning methodology,&rdquo; Echols said. &ldquo;After a company&rsquo;s learning goals are articulated, we assess existing learning opportunities that employees have, such as training, for college credit. And we work with the company&rsquo;s subject-matter experts to develop contextualized degree programs that help employees get ahead while furthering corporate goals.&rdquo;<br /><br />Examples of Bellevue University&rsquo;s successful learning partnerships include the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI). Bellevue University created online equivalency courses for the people served by these organizations and offered undergraduate credit for these courses toward business bachelor&rsquo;s degrees. &ldquo;We also developed a custom master&rsquo;s degree for acquisition professionals,&rdquo; Echols noted, &ldquo;because the need was identified and we had the flexibility and knowledge to get it done.&rdquo;<br /><br />Currently, Bellevue University partners with more than 85 major national learning organizations and Fortune 500 companies, including DAU, FAI, ManTech International, The Gallup Organization, Hewlett Packard (HP), MGM MIRAGE resorts and Caterpillar.<br /><br />One of the most recent innovations from Bellevue University is the introduction of the Human Capital Lab. The Human Capital Lab measures the impact of learning interventions (degree programs, training, mentoring, coaching and learning resources) on business outcomes, such as performance, leadership development, employee retention, employee engagement and return on investment. </p>